routine suggestions for acne riddled preggo skin

[mummytobejuly2014]

now 26wks and acne has not improved since the BFP. chest/bust and back are the worst, I wake up every day with at least 4 new yellowheads. my chest & back look like a rash it's that bad. im plagued with blackheads also. my face isn't too bad but its always 3/4 giant sore deep red angry lumpy spots that take weeks to heal. over the last 6 months i have tried all sorts of skin routines from plain water, dove, tea tree, superdrug antibacterial wipes, sensitive baby wipes, clean&clear blackhead clearing lotion, garnier spot clearing cleanser, boots no7 cleanser, st Ives apricot scrub once/twice a week. no routine is making any sort of difference. I wear estee lauder double wear at work & take it off as soon as I am home. all my makeup tools are cleaned regularly also. my skin becomes oily easily but t zone can be flaky as well as oily. I have tried all sorts of moisturisers too, clinique, estee lauder, garnier, nivea etc for combination skin and dry skin & oily skin but the oily skin ones make the flakiness worse.
can anyone offer any advice? fed up looking like an acne riddled teenager when id grown out of it! I have to wear high back/neck lines to hide the mess on my chest. there must be some sort of a solution?!

I also have very little sugar in my diet and try to drink water throughout the day

hi mummy - I'm sorry, it's the worst dealing with problem skin on top of everything else during pregnancy. I had a horrible first trimester with it and have been able to clear things up with the following (it's a pricey routine but if it keeps me from crying every single day, I figure it's worth it and i've been able to justify it a bit by using all hand me down maternity clothes ) Mama Mio Gorgeous Glow face wash with a clarisonic skin brush I've had for years, Clinique dramatically different moisturizer and Erborian BB Cream. My skin had been really dry and filled with acne at the same time and this routine really evened it out.

My skin has cleared up a little now I'm in the second trimester. In fact, I have no routine except for using Green People Vitamin moisturiser. It's still not clear, I get spots on my face still but my skin has become so sensitive I keep having allergic reactions.

Before pregnancy I always suffered with spots on on my chest and back. I switched to organic/natural products - shower gel, moisturiser, and even shampoo and conditioner. It's never been better since! Since becoming pregnant, I get one or two every few weeks but clears up quickly.

I just need to find the perfect face wash now... I refuse to accept that I'm destined to have acne ridden skin all the way into old age :-(

What worked for me (not pg at the time but had hormonal acne since coming off pill 2.5 yrs ago) was the 2-3 litres of water I was told to drink a day during ivf. Skin miraculously cleared up. When we got our bfp I stopped as was so fed up of going to the loo all the time but spots came back with a vengeance so am trying to drink 2l a day again and it's already improving. I realise you mentioned this in your OP but see if you can work out how much you actually drink a day. If you are already drinking that much then sorry, wish I had something else to suggest!

You could try your GP? There are topical treatments that are safe in pregnancy and prescriptions are free in pregnancy

I am riddled with acne. I'm using Zineryt lotion prescribed by the dr and safe in pregnancy, with a glycolic acid cream. Glycolic is safe too. I use one in the moring and one at night. Recently I've used Elemis lavendar repair mask too. My skin isn't clear, but it's not as bad as it would be without all this!

Ack that's miserable mummy.

I'd suggest a mineral powder foundation but it doesn't sound like it's triggered by your make-up.

My skin is normally bad and products with salicylic acid have always made a big difference - but unfortunately it's not recommended during pregnancy. The best alternative I have found is Belli face wash which contains lactic acid which does a similar job but is safe for pregnancy. Belli also do an acne treatment serum which is hard to find in the UK (I've just brought some back from the states - my skin has been behaving recently though so I can't vouch for how well it works, but the lady in the shop raved about it).

If you're really suffering though a visit to GP might be in order - I've always felt guilty about going to GP with acne but have always been surprised at how sympathetically I've been treated.

I've been using salicylic acid products, should I not be?

Salicycic acid isn't recommended, but there doesn't seem to be any evidence that it causes issues unless you consume it (still I prefer to be on the safe side).

Have you tried tea tree oil or washes? I used to use the stuff from bodyshop when I was a teen, don't know if ok in pregnancy.

Personally I've found that a good moisturiser and serum has made a difference, but every one is different!

I believe there is some association with high levels of exposure to salicylic acid and birth defects - BUT - I don't think there is any evidence that standard off-the-shelf skincare contains enough salicylic acid to be a real concern. Like coolcat I avoid it just to be on the safe side: I used to use a overnight gel which I can only buy on ebay and although it worked brilliantly I was a bit concerned it might have quite a lot of SA in it, so I stopped using it since TTC and bought pregnancy-safe alternatives.

Oh and the pregnancy-brand treatment I've got contains tea tree oil so I assume that's safe enough.

Salt in your bath water, and a bicarbonate of soda mask (mix with water into a paste, paint it on to problem areas, leave to dry, wash off). This helped me.

I would echo the pp's who suggested switching to a mineral foundation and organic/gentle products only. Use the fewest products you can. I was prescribed a topical cream by a dermatologist which made no difference whatsoever. A doc suggested a soap which, when I saw it contained salicylic acid, I chose not to use.

In my 3rd trimester my skin is marginally better but covered in red marks where I had spots before. My chest cleared with some exposure to the sun (and after I stopped constantly touching it!) I figure it's just one of those things we have to put up with, and hope that it clears up soon after birth. I'd love to have looked "glowing" in pregnancy, but I'd still rather have had pg acne than morning sickness!

thanks for the tips so far :)

I've had pretty bad acne for most of my life, with often very dry skin. What's worked for me is; taking a probiotic capsule (just seemed to help everything that's wrong with me!), and using the bare minimum of products. St Ives scrub every other day and water in between, tea tree cleaner from lush and if my skin is dry, freederm moisturiser. The freederm night cream is pretty good too, but a bit drying. I don't use any foamy face washes because the sls that makes the foam is quite harsh. I have only just started using a light foundation because until now, I always found the damage it caused wasnt worth it. So far, touch wood, I'm 12weeks and my skins still looking pretty good (if you don't count the dark circles under the eyes!!)

Make sure you don't touch your face and that you keep your hair off your face as much as possible, or that your hair is washed daily if you wear it down (I find my spots are worse if I wear my hair down on day 2). I use clean and clear daily exfoliating wash and biotherm moisturiser. These are not perfect, but best products I've found and I've tried many (suffered with acne from aged 13-27 so worked my way through nearly every product out there - was under dermatologist for a while as it was so bad - acne has just returned in this pregnancy) - but everyones different in terms of what suits their skin type - so there may be something that suits you better.
It does sound very hormonal, so try to keep as calm as possible as stress will unbalance your hormones more - maybe relaxation, exercise, and see your GP as you may need something more effective than usual products.

Op I'm not as far along as you but have all the same problems. A friend recommended going completely organic and using products from neals yard because my skin is very sensitive and hormonal. I haven't been using them long but I do really like them and have noticed an improvement in some places already.

Also make sure you change your pillowcase (or sheet, for your back) often and give your phone a wipe with anti bac now and again. 40% of Uk phones have faeces traces on them which cannot be good for your skin! (I found this out from real, work health and safety training, not the Internet)